Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems that convert waste materials into useable fuels.
Description of Related Art
Pyrolysis (heat without oxygen) of organic and carbon materials has been around since ancient times, and is how Noah made tar pitch for the
Ark and how the Egyptians made tar for stones in the pyramids. Petroleum was known before petroleum Colonel Edwin Drake drilled for oil in 1858 in Titusville, Pa., but few believed it had any useful purpose or that there was enough of it to matter. So almost all of the existing oil companies produced what was called “wood oil” or oil produced by the pyrolysis of wood along with whale oil as the oil sources of the 1800's. Even after Drake hit oil, wood oil would continue in use until the early 1900's until people accepted that sufficient petroleum oil existed to count on economically. During World War II, millions of vehicle ran on the synthetic gas produced by pyrolysis of wood, especially in Europe where petroleum was scarce.
Since the 1980's, research and development of systems that can convert waste plastics and other materials (including hazardous materials such as PCBs) have been patented and developed into production systems. Many of the systems focused on fast pyrolysis (heating the material quickly) to produce a synthetic gas (syngas) for energy production. Some of the systems focused on oil production as the primary product producing oils from heating oils, specialty chemicals, and petroleum substitute oils and fuels. The major players are addressed in the paper titled Environmental and Economic Analysis of Emerging Plastics Conversion Technologies Final Project Report, Jan. 10, 2012 RTI Project No. 0212876.000 prepared by RTI International for the American Chemistry Council.
As the technology has improved systems have become increasingly better at converting non-fuel materials into fuels, but they have also become far more complex and more expensive. This increased complexity and cost makes the best systems unavailable to many populations where the technology would be very useful.
A need exists, therefore, for a system that can convert a broad range of waste materials and feed stock into useful hydrocarbons with reduced complexity and expense.
All references cited herein are incorporated by reference to the maximum extent allowable by law. To the extent a reference may not be fully incorporated herein, it is incorporated by reference for background purposes and indicative of the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art.